Cactus Christmas mashup with La Catrina Lady of the Dead

The Tucson Botanical Garden seems to be throwing everything into the mix for this year’s holiday season. They have 3 Christmas trees plus Korean fabric lanterns (from last year) plus 9 tall La Calavera Catrina figures still in place apparently from an October/November Dia de los Muertos celebration. Then there’s a masked horse and Our Lady of Guadalupe to finish off this interesting mashup.

So let’s start with the Christmas trees.

The big Official Tree at the entrance is a tapering pyramid of Poinsettias–white, red and green. Definitely a California look.

And behind the two women in the Poinsettia tree photo is a “Welcome Horse” sculpture which stands as a visual reminder to wear a mask while visiting the Garden.

Wander into the old section of the Botanical Garden to see Christmas Tree #2, a Prickly Pear Cactus tree ornamented with burlap and wearing a skirt of poinsettias and a crown of sizzling hot chilis. What looks like a paper bag is actually a luminaria. They are throughout the garden and in the evening they, and the Korean Lanterns, are lighted.

And for Christmas Tree #3 we visit Mexico and a fabulous assortment of ornaments from south of the border. The chain winding through the tree is made from loops of cut-up oilcloth in traditional Mexican patterns. I especially like the Mayan Temple, the Christmas shepherd with sheep and the Aztec Snake goddess ornaments in the second photo.

La Calavera Catrina sculptures

The Mexican Garden section of the Tucson Botanical Garden is, in my opinion, usually pretty much of a boring hodge-podge pot garden, but not this season! Towering La Calavera Catrina figures–apparently left over from Day of the Dead are sited in and around the garden.

The image of La Calavera Catrina was first etched by Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada back in 1911 as a way of ridiculing Mexicans who were avoiding their past in an effort to become more European. Posada’s prime target were upper class Mexican women in ornate French style clothing. The image had impact not only on ordinary people, but artists like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera embraced it. Frida Kahlo, with her mono-eyebrow and red skirt, makes an appearance in this group, as well as the Aztec Lady of the Dead , Mictecacihuatl, dressed in brown.

And tucked away in a corner of the Mexican Garden is a small 18 inch high shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. A protective metal screen has been added since I last took a photo of her. Her Saint’s Day is December 12th.

I would love to welcome you as a new subscriber to I Saw It In Tucson. Sign up for this free blog before you leave the site today.

Tucson and Pima County are now under a mandatory curfew from 10 pm to 5 am. I go out only during the day and only to places where I think there will be few or no people. I went to the Post Office last week to send Christmas packages and it was packed–mostly with older people–and some were not wearing masks! Too scary for me! I’ll be avoiding it for a while.